Yet the battling Ivory Coast midfielder believes it is only when the pressure comes on that true Champions are forged... and insisted it is City who have proved they have the mental steel to go the distance.

Speaking through gritted teeth in the immediate aftermath of defeat, Toure struck a defiant note as he called on his team-mates to rediscover the toughness that took won them the title in such dramatic fashion last season.

“It was a dagger to the heart to lose to a late goal like that,” he said of the deflected Robin van Persie strike that meant United won 3-2 at Eastlands, "but this makes us more determined to win it.

“We are tough men, and when things get difficult, that is when you find the tough men. This year will be tough but we have a fantastic squad and we have the confidence to keep going until the final day.

“That goal was unbelievable, and a devastating blow, but that is what United are about - they are a big team and we are proud to play against them.

“They have to know this is not finished, though. We will continue to give them problems in the league, and at the end of the season I hope we will win it again.”

To do that, City must recover from the harsh lesson handed out by their crowing neighbours, who exposed some unlikely signs of weakness in the champions.

In particular, the spirit and resilience that typified last season’s fightback, when the Blues wiped out an eight-point United lead in the last six games to win the Premier League, appears to be missing.

Toure has urged his team-mates to swiftly recover their hunger and desire, to allow them to fight back against United.

“We have to forget what we have done in the past. Last year was fantastic, but we have to realise that sometimes you have a bad time,” he added.

“But we have to be strong guys, tough men, and work harder to turn this around. We need to improve by working hard, because when you are at the top everybody wants to take you down.

“We have to be strong mentally, and strong in every other way as well, and make sure the championship of the Premier League is not finished yet.”

Toure himself has looked a shadow of the player that strode through the Premier League last time.

He has been dogged by a knee injury that seemed to flare again at the weekend.

The midfielder though, insisted he will not be beaten by the problem.

Toure explained: “The knee is good - after a day, it will be OK. We are tough men!”